My Uni Journey

[Seamus Wong]

First Uni journal entry.

Why I'm writing a Journal:
- It's good to keep track of how I'm feeling towards studies and life in general
- I wrote a VCE journal and it was pretty cool to look back at it at the end of the year
- I tend to stress too much about stupid shit and my mind gets clogged, which prevents me from fully focusing on my work.

What I'm studying:
- Bachelor of Commerce and Computer Science
- For commerce, I'm majoring in Finance. I might change it to Economics though. Idk yet, I will have to do some research.
- For Computer Science, I am specialising in Data Science.

Why did I choose this Degree
- I like the financial markets and I like money lol
- I find the study of Economics extremely interesting due to the fact that Economic Thinking rules the way that we live our lives
- I want to start an investment fund, and I know that in order to make wise investment decisions, a shit load of data needs to be analysed. So obviously choosing to specialise in Data Science would likely help me in processing data extremely quickly and effectively - much more efficient and effective than me doing it manually.
- I also find technology and computer programming really interesting because we are literally surrounded by it. I think it's good to have a solid understanding of how it all works.

My Uni Goals
- Start an small Trading and Investing club with other Uni students
- Get some smart friends
- Keep up to date with Uni work and hopefully get HD's in all my commerce Units and Data Science units
- Be very efficient with the way that I use my time
- Not really a uni goal, but just keep working out consistently and eating healthy food
- Get a job

Actual Journal Entry

- Uni has started online this week
- Online format sucks
- The user interface on the myMonash website is okay, but takes a bit to get used to
- I've finished all the work for Accounting (which was just watching a lecture and taking notes (i think...))
- I did a bit of maths. Idk how to feel about maths as of yet. So far the content has been relatively easy. It was a bit hard at the start because all the concepts were new, but I've got used to the way that the content is delivered, and the style of the content, so I think if I stay focused and on top of the work I'll be fine.
- Economics is likely going to be my favourite subject
- I got 6 credit points for doing Algorithmics last year, so I was allowed to skip FIT1045 (Programming Fundamentals in Python) and jump into FIT1047 (introduction into Computer Systems, Networks and Security). I am enjoying this unit so far. We just have gone over converting Binary into decimal. There is some other stuff that we learnt but I've forgotten it already. Gotta write up some notes tomorrow.

- I need to allocate an hour everyday to keeping up with the financial markets. It's a bit overwhelming because there is so much information to digest and I don't really have a lot of time to process it all on my own. Hopefully the Investing and Trading group that I've setup actually get going and some proper research and discussion can be done, and informed investment decisions made.

Gonna sleep now.
I should also set a bed time so that I can get a good routine going cos currently I have no solid routine at all. 

[Joseph41]

How's the online format affecting you? Like is it 100% online (I'm a bit out of the loop with this)?

[Seamus Wong]

How's the online format affecting you? Like is it 100% online (I'm a bit out of the loop with this)?

We watch streams of last years lecture and we don't have tutorials/labs for the first week. One of my computer science units tried to do a live online lab, which I left after the first 10 minutes because the connection was poor and it would be much faster for me to do the lab worksheet by myself.

[Bri MT]

We watch streams of last years lecture and we don't have tutorials/labs for the first week. One of my computer science units tried to do a live online lab, which I left after the first 10 minutes because the connection was poor and it would be much faster for me to do the lab worksheet by myself.

I just had a lab through zoom (on programming) and it worked well for me but in the chat there were some people who struggled to engage with it. It's hard to tell how much of that difficulty was from the content and how much was from the online format. I found that splitting the screen so I could see what was going on in the chat and on the presenter's screen at the same time as doing my work was slightly annoying at the start but I got used to it.

Hopefully if there's a next time your connection is better then

[Seamus Wong]

I just had a lab through zoom (on programming) and it worked well for me but in the chat there were some people who struggled to engage with it. It's hard to tell how much of that difficulty was from the content and how much was from the online format. I found that splitting the screen so I could see what was going on in the chat and on the presenter's screen at the same time as doing my work was slightly annoying at the start but I got used to it.

Hopefully if there's a next time your connection is better then

Well most of the questions that we went through were very easy, so I think the lack of engagement is purely due to the online format. I hope I don't get penalised for not attending it in its entirety.

[Seamus Wong]

Okay, so it was my first day of Uni on campus today, and it was great.
The student demographic is varied, but there is definitely a larger population of nerds and people who I'd consider 'focused' which was awesome, because I felt like I could be myself and not really be judged.

The computer science workload is pretty big - the commerce not so much, but it still does require effort obviously.

I feel like if I wasn't doing Computer Science, I would definitely not be pushing the limits of my mind in terms of its problem solving ability. My ability to focus is also growing due to the difficulty of the computer science units - the fact that the content is hard kind of forces me to be able to stay focused for longer.
My time management skills have also improved.

I learnt, from personal experience, and also from some friends who are REALLY smart, that the most effective way to learn and to study is to just do a tonne of questions and to be very picky with the things that I take notes on. So I am doing a lot more questions as opposed to just reading, taking notes and memorising things.

I have a lot of work to do tonight. I feel tired, but I actually love the satisfaction of understanding new and difficult concepts, and then solving problems with the new info that I learn. The satisfaction and pride that comes from completing the work far outweighs any sort of material reward that one would give themselves for doing something 'difficult' - e.g. Buying X as a reward for completing task A.

Unfortunately I will not be able to workout tonight due to the homework. I did ride my bike a lot though today which was kinda like a cardio and leg workout.
 

[Seamus Wong]

Short entry to get some things off my mind.

Uni is fully online for the rest of the semester and probably year and it sucks so much.
I want to go to campus to study because I have nothing to distract me there, and the campus looks really nice which is motivating for study.

I have noticed one of my flaws over the past week:
I am able to focus on my work, but when I am in that state of flow I tend to not give attention to, or put any effort into interacting normally with, the people around me - family and friends - and those relationship suffer.
That's why I wanna get out of the house and continue going to the uni campus because at least there I don't have anyone to talk to nor is there anyone that wants to talk to me, which enables me to fully focus without worrying about if I'm affecting anyone with my lack of energy in conversations.

When I am forced to be around family and friends, I guess I just have to evaluate whether the cost of having shit relationships as a result of my focus is worth the benefit of being productive. I think in 90% of cases, it is. 

This coronavirus shit is pissing me off. Can't believe it's actually a thing. It's kinda fucked up the first year of uni for me. Taking an objective viewpoint, I am probably in one of those groups least affected by disruptions.
I Feel bad for the businesses who are suffering and the workers who have been forced to stop working without pay, and obviously the people who are more susceptible to being seriously affected by the virus.

[Bri MT]

Hey,

If campus isn't very far away from you should definitely consider studying in libraries and study spaces such as the LTB since they are still open. Also, since a lot of classes have been put online only it's easy to grab a small classroom and study in there if you want to really avoid others while studying. I've been on campus a fair bit - even attended a lecture on Thursday - and even though there aren't as many people as there usually would be this early in semester, campus isn't dead. There are pieces of paper telling you where you can and can't sit so that 1.5m separation is maintained but despite that I still didn't have any issues finding study spaces this week.

I definitely think having this happen in first year when you're already needing to adjust to uni is rough; hopefully after having this experience you're over prepared with study skills and practice at independent learning for semester 2.

[Seamus Wong]

Holy shit my accounting work is so boring - literally giving it the least amount of attention possible cos I hate it so much. So far we just gotta apply definitions to scenarios. boring. I'm guessing the content will get a bit more interesting as the unit progresses - I hope it does.

I am really starting to like maths now.

I am kinda sick of the humanities subjects because there isn't much abstract thinking or problem solving required. I also am really sick of writing answers to questions. A lot of the stuff that we write is just fluff with 30% actually providing the relevant information pertaining to the question being asked.

The stuff that we're learning in Computer Systems, Networks and Security is really interesting. We started learning about circuits, gates and logic optimisation. Optimising circuits using the laws of boolean algebra is really satisfying. I find it cool that the problems we are solving are analogous to the problems that people making circuits actually have to solve.

I'm doing 150 pushups a day. Gotta do some now actually.
I'm also eating pretty healthily as well - salad/vegetables with every meal. Trying to reduce caloric intake as well.
Posture is probs gonna get shit from constantly leaning over desks and studying.
Gotta try and counter this by exercising my back more.

[Seamus Wong]

Random Thoughts

So many distractions at home - can't believe I'm gonna be stuck inside at least for the next 6 months. I am actually craving social interaction with people other than my family. Not verbally talking to friends for the past couple of weeks has made me realise how much I actually like talking with people.
I actually get a bit excited for the Zoom online tutorial classes now because of the fact that I get to talk to other people in my classes.

Personal stuff

I have created some work to do outside of uni work:
- I have some books on Algorithmic Trading Strategies that I need to read
- Research project related to the current Macroeconomic climate - which will be used to identify sectors to invest in (currently looking at materials and agricultural sector)
- Creating a new trading algorithm with a friend. This should be fun.

Don't have a job. Applied the other day and received the email from Coles and Woolies which contained nothing but disappointment.
I'm doing Uber Eats delivery now though. Hopefully fast-food chains remain open. In the UK, all maccas and subway restaurants have closed for an indefinite period of time.

Uni

Uni workload is pretty manageable. I will probably not be saying that by the end of this week lol.
My favourite subject now is Computer Systems Networks and Security, mainly because I really like making circuits using this software. It's so satisfying. It's kinda like an art.
Exams are all online. Idk how that will work. hopefully it is easier than doing them normally.
Stopped going to uni cos I don't wanna endanger anyone in my family.
I feel like I'd be more productive being at Uni. More opportunity to ask questions. More motivation. More fun.
However, motivation is not really of concern to me anymore as I have become very productive.
I heard an interesting quote:
"Work spreads to fill time available"

Since I have my uni coursework to do, as well as my algorithmic trading and macroeconomic research tasks, I feel like I am being more efficient with my time.

Health
Been doing 100 pushups a day. I can easily pump out 50 in a row now which is good. wanna keep on increasing it though.
My eating has been pretty shit though. Gotta eat better food so I don't morph into a blob of fat.

Mentally I feel okay. I'm moving (again) into kinda shared accommodation this Friday which is giving me something to look forward to. However, moving my shit will likely consume an entire day which will be annoying.
Other than that, the only thing that is bothering me is the fact that I miss going outside and having social interactions.

I'm Feeling pretty optimistic about the rest of this year. I think I will achieve all that I've set out to achieve. The virus has changed some plans but I have more or less adapted to it.

[Seamus Wong]

Feeling pretty good at the moment.

I said last week that I was probably going to fall behind with my uni work - and I did.
This past week kind of taught me that I needed to bring back some structure and planning into my life.

I had entered this year with the mindset of not taking uni too seriously - well at least not as seriously as year 12. I obviously wanted to do well, but I didn't really want to put in too much effort - which is a dumb idea and looking back, I shouldn't have underestimated the difficulty of uni.
So when uni started, I didn't create any homework/study plan, nor did I write down any sort of list of the tasks I needed to complete each day. This lead to lots of clutter in my mind, and me forgetting to do certain tasks, and overall me just being stressed out because I knew I needed to get shit done, but I didn't know exactly what shit actually needed to be done - if that makes sense....

Anyway, I have learnt that structure is necessary, and I've felt a lot less stressed an anxious because I now know what needs to be done and by when.

My computer science units are getting really interesting. We are learning about the internal structure of processors and how instructions are executed and how data is transferred within a system. It's kind of like studying human anatomy, but instead of studying the human body, we're studying a computers.

The maths we are doing is pretty fun - boolean algebra. The last lecture was on mathematical induction which I knew from doing algo in year 12.
The computer science subjects are very time consuming. The lecturer for the maths unit is really really good, but the computer systems unit lecturer doesn't fully explain things - leaving me constantly searching up questions on Google and Youtube to try and figure out and understand the basic ideas that the lecture has failed to effectively communicate to us. Pretty frustrating, but not too bad because the content is interesting.

My economics and accounting units for commerce are pretty boring tbh. They aren't difficult and they aren't that interesting - mainly because so far the concepts are the same as what's covered in year 12 eco and accounting.
I can't wait to learn about stuff that I haven't learnt about before.

My eating is getting kinda better - still pretty bad. My workouts are getting better though which is good.
I can pump out 70 pushups in a row which is awesome.

I haven't put any energy into my side-projects though which makes me feel really terrible. I will get back onto them once I have gotten ahead with uni work.

I did feel a little depressed over the past 3 weeks because of the whole change in my routine and the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus and uni. It has taught me how important it is to be adaptable to change. Now I feel so much better and it makes me never want to fall back into the habits that I did fall into over that 3 week period - waking up late, going to bed late, eating junk, not planning my days, not saying no to distractions, etc. - because it genuinely is the worst feeling.

If I were to rate the current state of my life right now, it would be a 7/10. At the end of the week I hope to be ahead with my uni work and back onto my programming and investing projects. If I can effectively manage uni and my projects (and my health as well of course) then I could give myself a 10/10.

[Seamus Wong]

Okay so I feel like that 1 week mid-semester break was definitely needed - and was pretty well spent.

I got on top of work that I'd fallen behind on.
I also got ahead on this weeks content.

I have a new study schedule/routine/plan thing that I have been following and it is so good.

So instead of planning my day, I plan my week in advance.
Each day of the week, I allocate a particular type of task.
For example, one day, I will attempt to just get through all lectures and any readings and write down notes. I won't do any questions on this day.

Then the next day, I'll spend the entire day just doing questions for each of my subjects.
If I don't get through all questions, then I'll do the same thing the next day.

Then I have a day purely for my personal projects - so I can program, research and read whatever I want.

If some groups of tasks take longer, then I allocate another day to them.

So far it is really good and I've found my productivity has increased significantly.

My exercising has been great - my back is also straightening up really well due to the stretches and back exercises that I've been doing. I am also incorporating cardio into my workouts which I am enjoying more than I thought I would have.
Due to quarantine, I've been ensuring I go outside atleast once every two days - today I went and rode my bike for an hour which felt great.

I got a cool programming project I am working on which is also exciting.

Other than that, things have been good. I hope I can stay on top of my work and I can stick to my routine and maintain this productivity.

[brothanathan]

Okay so I feel like that 1 week mid-semester break was definitely needed - and was pretty well spent.

I got on top of work that I'd fallen behind on.
I also got ahead on this weeks content.

I have a new study schedule/routine/plan thing that I have been following and it is so good.

So instead of planning my day, I plan my week in advance.
Each day of the week, I allocate a particular type of task.
For example, one day, I will attempt to just get through all lectures and any readings and write down notes. I won't do any questions on this day.

Then the next day, I'll spend the entire day just doing questions for each of my subjects.
If I don't get through all questions, then I'll do the same thing the next day.

Then I have a day purely for my personal projects - so I can program, research and read whatever I want.

If some groups of tasks take longer, then I allocate another day to them.

So far it is really good and I've found my productivity has increased significantly.

Ever tried incorporating a spaced repetition routine? Let's say you finished a topic on the 22nd, review it on the 25th, review it again on the 2nd of April, then a month later on the 2nd of May. If you've tried something like this before, how effective did you find it?

[Seamus Wong]

Ever tried incorporating a spaced repetition routine? Let's say you finished a topic on the 22nd, review it on the 25th, review it again on the 2nd of April, then a month later on the 2nd of May. If you've tried something like this before, how effective did you find it?

No I haven't actually. I kind of just learn stuff, make sure I understand it, do some questions, and then not really look at it again until a test or exam comes up. I guess it probably would be good to incorporate a spaced repetition routine. It really would depend on the subject and the complexity of the content.
Greater complexity = Increased need to review more regularly to ensure it stays understood
Less complexity = Understand it once and just briefly review it when studying to refresh your memory

[Seamus Wong]

Update

Sleep Schedule

I sleep throughout the day, and study all night. It is working pretty well so far.
It's good because now I've removed the biggest source of distraction - the people at home - which allows me to do my work uninterrupted.

Uni

Uni work has been good. Things are getting a bit more difficult which is good since it is forcing me to actually focus. Before I didn't really put in too much effort in my commerce subjects because I knew the content from year 12. Now we are learning new shit so I have to put in effort.

FIT1047 assignment is stressing me out. I know I'll get it done - I just don't know when.

Mental Health

Been in a really bad head-space over the past week and it has affected my studies, my projects, my sleep schedule (hence why I'm up right now at 2AM) and my exercise/diet. It honestly never occurred to me that I'd suffer from anxiety/depression because things have been relatively chill my whole life - but recently shit hasn't been going so well and little things pile up on top of each other and create a huge grey cloud of burden that I feel is weighing me down more and more each day.

Random shit

Got back into working out today after not exercising for 3 days, and have started eating healthier again.

Coffee has been keeping me alive - I'm not addicted, I just drink one at 10:00pm to fuel me into the night and through till the early morning.

I think this 'depression' has peaked and I am starting to feel better.

also, can coronavirus fuck off. I wanna go to uni